Types of Affiliate Programs
Today, affiliate marketing is regarded as one of the best ways to generate income over the internet. The popularity of affiliate marketing is undeniable because even a lot of successful people offline are looking into it as an alternative career that will let them control their time and pace of work. Both merchants and affiliates regard this program as a major source of income.
But it is also important to realize that not all affiliate programs are the same because there are actually many different types of affiliate program that had been created to suit both the merchants and the affiliate’s requirements and budget. Here is an overview of the different programs for you to find out which will work best for you:
Pay Per Click (PPC)
This is the most popular type of affiliate marketing program for start-up websites because it is the easier way for them to make money. In this type of program, the merchant will pay the affiliate for every visitor he directs to the merchant website. Typically, PPC fees are small but it can add up to generate large profits.
Pay Per Performance (PPP)
Pay Per Performance is the most lucrative type of affiliate marketing program for affiliates. In this case, the merchant will only pay the affiliate when his referral buys something from the merchant or if the visitor becomes a lead. Most of the time, commissions can range from 15-20% of the sale although it can go higher than that.
Pay per performance has two subcategories including pay per sale and pay per lead. Pay per sale affiliate marketing is where the merchant will pay a certain fee to the affiliate when he visitor buys from the merchant’s site. In most cases, affiliates will be paid a commission fee although some merchants can decide to pay a fixed fee for every sale.
On the other hand, the pay per lead affiliate marketing is just a variation of the pay per sale. The two concepts are almost the same but here, the affiliate will be paid for the leads he provides to the merchant. Pay per lead usually works for finance and insurance companies who need leads to expand their business. The pay per lead will also work for merchants who sell expensive items over the internet such as cars and luxury items because it can take some time before the referral translate to action.
But aside from the specific affiliate marketing types that are mentioned above, there are actually other types of affiliate marketing including “single-tier, two-tier, and multi-tier “affiliate marketing and residual affiliate marketing. The “tier” method is based on the different levels in the affiliate marketing networks wherein payments will be made. For example, in the single tier program, affiliates will be paid by direct sales only.
In the residual marketing program, the affiliate will also get paid by his direct referrals but it will not be on a single basis. Rather, he will be paid whenever the customer returns and buys
